Tuesday, May 8, 2012
From May 3: Welcome to an Outsider
Dear People of Christ Church,
This Sunday at our 10 am service, we'll hear from our Costa Rica pilgrims, Emma Scalisi and Julia Wall, as well as a few of their compatriots from St James in Cambridge, as part of our usual first Sunday of the month children's service. Remember to bring your diaper donations! We'll also "pray in" Victoria Sundgren as our new junior warden, and offer thanks for the ministry of Sarah Staley who leaves the post in anticipation of her and Mike's twins, whose due date approaches. We'll also pray for Rob, Emma, and Jesse as the "part two" of our 2012 Confirmation group commissioning.
Our readings for this Sunday are some of my favorites. In Acts, we hear the story of the Ethiopian eunuch who meets Philip on the road. He's reading the book of Isaiah, and asks Philip to help him interpret it. As continue together in their chariot, they go by a body of water, and the eunuch (who isn't named) exclaims, "What is to prevent me from being baptized right now?" And, so, he does and believes and is brought into the Body of Christ. There is so much that I love about this story-the eunuch, for starters, would not have been accepted in many religious communities, and I love that it's a Christian apostle who offers him the love and acceptance that others would deny him. I love his excitement-why not now?- it's a good paradigm for us in the church today.
So much in contemporary life is about meeting others' expectations and qualifications. I find myself even being anxious about my son entering kindergarten in the fall-kindergarten!-as thought we can write off his future if his scissor skills aren't up to par. But Philip doesn't ask his new acquaintance if he's really serious about it, or whether he's thought about the future, or how he will tithe, or if he'll quit working for the queen all the way in Ethiopia. Philip most pointedly doesn't ask him about being a eunuch, even though Deuteronomy clearly says that such a man whose body had been so altered could not be permitted into the assembly. Rather than tell him he's still not good enough, Philip brings him right in, right now. It's not the eunuch's identity or experience that legitimates him, it's his desire.
Our other readings for Sunday keep the hits coming--our epistle is from the first letter of John (Chapter 4): "Whoever loves is born of God and knows God." The eunuch, no matter what was going on in his life, knew God. Finally, in the Gospel, we hear Jesus the true vine, poetically inviting us to abide, like branches in God's love, bearing fruit. There is also some language around withering and thrown into the fire: less romantic, perhaps, but it does remind us that the stakes are high.
This afternoon, take a moment to abide in God's love.
Take a moment to dwell in that place where there is nothing to prevent you from being bathed in kindness and peace and courage.
It is beyond words, it is above thought, it is below your feet.
Blessings,
Sara+
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
From April 26: Gratitude for Ordinary Life
Dear People of Christ Church,
This week, I have found myself on several occasions brought to tears in considering intensely ordinary things. I don't think it's that I'm particularly emotionally fragile, but somehow I've just felt blessed to hear about those things I so take for granted that others struggle with. This morning, for example, I had the opportunity to visit the Waltham Family School. WFS opened in 2003 as a way of meeting two needs for families in Waltham: affordable preschool for children and English instruction for parents. Four days a week, housed at the old Waltham South Jr high, parents and kids come to school. The parents are immigrants-many from Central and South America, but also from Asia and Africa. 60% of them have a 6th grade education-or less-in their home country. So they come to learn-learn to speak English, learn to read, learn how to help prepare their kids for kindergarten. This morning, I met a woman who was learning to read. Originally from Africa, when she signed her son up for kindergarten she had to have a friend come along to fill out the forms for her. She couldn't understand the notes that came home-how could she ask her friends constantly to read her mail for her?-and she tried to improvise as best she could. One day, though, her son came home from school and said that all the kids were wearing their pajamas that day. It was pajama day. Why hadn't she told him? This year, she said, when it came around again, she was able to read the notice and bought him a new pair for her son's special day. It is so, so ordinary, but it brings me to tears-all the education, all the privilege I take for granted, and and the tenacious love of a mother to make a better life for her son. Last year, the first 23 graduates of the WFS preschool entered middle school. Nearly half of them are on the honor roll, and 2011 also saw the first WFS parent earn her GED in English. It works-unfortunately last year Congress voted to de-fund Even Start programs. So the Family School has some fundraising to do for their 2013 budget, especially with 39 families on the waiting list. You'll hear more. Another tear-jerker moment came when I was at clergy conference this week. This annual event is not known for its emotional content-all the priests (and some deacons) of the Diocese of MA gather together for presentations and meetings for three days-get ready, get set, sit still!-and there was a lot of that. This year, though, we had the opportunity to screen the film "Love Free or Die" about Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire (the first openly gay bishop in the Church). The film opened at the Sundance film festival this year and screenings are now taking place internationally (including at Philips Andover this evening). I've written in this space a lot about the Church and human sexuality and all the debates we engage in and what it means for our politics and our faith. What amazed me about the movie was how the Holy Spirit was so evident in the deep faith that everyone at the table shared in God and in love and in the church. Bishop Gene was initially the topic of the film-how he went to his consecration as a bishop in a bullet proof vest, how he was the first elected bishop ever not to be invited to the decennial gathering of all the bishops of the Anglican Communion at Lambeth, England. But the movie also took on the church's process at the 2009 General Convention in approving the future consecration of gay or lesbian bishops and the blessings of same sex unions (and, in our diocese, the vote that would permit clergy to officiate at legal same sex marriages as well). We heard tearful voices from both sides of the debate trying to speak their truth honestly and openly, and heard how after the votes the whole room sat in prayer and silence for ten minutes. Even those who disagreed with the majority action witnessed the Holy Spirit, and that is a wonder. Our own Bishop Tom Shaw featured heavily as well, with adorable shots of him playing at the beach with his godchildren and their dads. In the course of the film Tom said that he, too, was gay, though as a celibate monk the question is substantially different for him. After the screening when Bishop Shaw talked about why he'd made the decision to come out, he said that he never would want his godson to think that he should be ashamed of his family. In response, a colleague of mine spoke of how important that openness was to her teen son in his coming out process, and there was not a dry eye in the house. Marriage, love, parenthood, pajama day. What are the gifts that you forget to give thanks for? Pray them now, and pray you don't forget. Blessings, Sara+
This week, I have found myself on several occasions brought to tears in considering intensely ordinary things. I don't think it's that I'm particularly emotionally fragile, but somehow I've just felt blessed to hear about those things I so take for granted that others struggle with. This morning, for example, I had the opportunity to visit the Waltham Family School. WFS opened in 2003 as a way of meeting two needs for families in Waltham: affordable preschool for children and English instruction for parents. Four days a week, housed at the old Waltham South Jr high, parents and kids come to school. The parents are immigrants-many from Central and South America, but also from Asia and Africa. 60% of them have a 6th grade education-or less-in their home country. So they come to learn-learn to speak English, learn to read, learn how to help prepare their kids for kindergarten. This morning, I met a woman who was learning to read. Originally from Africa, when she signed her son up for kindergarten she had to have a friend come along to fill out the forms for her. She couldn't understand the notes that came home-how could she ask her friends constantly to read her mail for her?-and she tried to improvise as best she could. One day, though, her son came home from school and said that all the kids were wearing their pajamas that day. It was pajama day. Why hadn't she told him? This year, she said, when it came around again, she was able to read the notice and bought him a new pair for her son's special day. It is so, so ordinary, but it brings me to tears-all the education, all the privilege I take for granted, and and the tenacious love of a mother to make a better life for her son. Last year, the first 23 graduates of the WFS preschool entered middle school. Nearly half of them are on the honor roll, and 2011 also saw the first WFS parent earn her GED in English. It works-unfortunately last year Congress voted to de-fund Even Start programs. So the Family School has some fundraising to do for their 2013 budget, especially with 39 families on the waiting list. You'll hear more. Another tear-jerker moment came when I was at clergy conference this week. This annual event is not known for its emotional content-all the priests (and some deacons) of the Diocese of MA gather together for presentations and meetings for three days-get ready, get set, sit still!-and there was a lot of that. This year, though, we had the opportunity to screen the film "Love Free or Die" about Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire (the first openly gay bishop in the Church). The film opened at the Sundance film festival this year and screenings are now taking place internationally (including at Philips Andover this evening). I've written in this space a lot about the Church and human sexuality and all the debates we engage in and what it means for our politics and our faith. What amazed me about the movie was how the Holy Spirit was so evident in the deep faith that everyone at the table shared in God and in love and in the church. Bishop Gene was initially the topic of the film-how he went to his consecration as a bishop in a bullet proof vest, how he was the first elected bishop ever not to be invited to the decennial gathering of all the bishops of the Anglican Communion at Lambeth, England. But the movie also took on the church's process at the 2009 General Convention in approving the future consecration of gay or lesbian bishops and the blessings of same sex unions (and, in our diocese, the vote that would permit clergy to officiate at legal same sex marriages as well). We heard tearful voices from both sides of the debate trying to speak their truth honestly and openly, and heard how after the votes the whole room sat in prayer and silence for ten minutes. Even those who disagreed with the majority action witnessed the Holy Spirit, and that is a wonder. Our own Bishop Tom Shaw featured heavily as well, with adorable shots of him playing at the beach with his godchildren and their dads. In the course of the film Tom said that he, too, was gay, though as a celibate monk the question is substantially different for him. After the screening when Bishop Shaw talked about why he'd made the decision to come out, he said that he never would want his godson to think that he should be ashamed of his family. In response, a colleague of mine spoke of how important that openness was to her teen son in his coming out process, and there was not a dry eye in the house. Marriage, love, parenthood, pajama day. What are the gifts that you forget to give thanks for? Pray them now, and pray you don't forget. Blessings, Sara+
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